Yoga, dogs, and mysteries… what could be more fun?

Finding Inspiration

I’ve been feeling uninspired lately. Lots of reasons, none all that compelling. But compelling or not, they have temporarily eclipsed my drive to write. So today’s blog will draw from the words of two people much wiser than me. Two people who have influenced my yoga style, my teaching, and my philosophy of life, even though I never studied with either of them directly. Those of you who follow my yoga teacher/sleuth Kate’s adventures, these are the same people who influence her.

If you’re curious about Viniyoga and its key tenants, the words of Krishnamacharya and his son Desikachar (both who devoted their lives to this work) express its power better than I can ever hope to.

Teacher training students and grads, hopefully some of this sounds familiar.

“The success of yoga must not be measured by how flexible your body becomes, but rather by how much it opens your heart.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.

“Yoga, unlike dance or mime, is not an expression of form for others to watch.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.

“The success of yoga does not like in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and relationships.” T.K.V. Desikachar.

On Teaching:

“Teach what is inside you. Not as it applies to you, to yourself, but as it applies to the other.” — Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

“A good teacher sees the commonality of all human beings and helps each individual find his uniqueness.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.

On Life:

“Whether things get better or worse depends to a considerable extent on our own actions.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.

“The way that we see things today does not have to be the way we saw them yesterday. This is because the situations, our relationships to them, and we ourselves have changed in the interim.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.

“However powerful or disturbing something may appear to be, it is our reaction to it that determines its effects.” — T.K.V. Desikachar.